Online
by Idy Adler
Summary: A teenage girl is found at the bottom of a ditch just outside of Sacramento. The CBI team is called up to find her murderer.  Meanwhile, an agent manages to get by the CBI computer firewalls.   **see inside for more, please!**
1. Chapter 1

I got the inspiration for this fic after I read RunningWild14's 'IM Chats' story. It's a great and funny little fic, I definitely recommend reading it. (:  
Like her fic, my story includes our favorite little CBI agents using an instant messaging program. But that's not the main focus of my story. I think it's just the glue that holds everything together.

**Summary:** A teenage girl is found at the bottom of a ditch just outside of Sacramento. The CBI team is called up to find her murderer.  
Meanwhile, an agent manages to get by the CBI computer firewalls. Every living person in the building is suddenly "online".

Wow. I know, that summary really sucked. Sorry. But I don't want to give too much of the story away. I hope you read on anyway. The story is better than the summary makes it sound.  
There might be some Jisbon later on? Because Lisbon and Jane are total soulmates. (:  
This is my first fanfic that includes a case. I'll just post a few chapters, and if people like them I'll write more.

Note; this takes place in my own little twisted Sacramento. Minelli is still the boss, and Rigsby & Van Pelt are still together. There is no Bosco, there is no silly French Frye lady.  
I wish it could be that perfect on the show. Ahahah.

Okay, on to the story.~

* * *

**chapter one **

It was a boring day at the CBI headquarters in Sacramento, California.  
Well, in the Serious Crimes unit, anyway.  
They had just finished a case, so everyone was stuck doing mountains of paperwork. The bullpen was silent except for the clacks of people typing and the whir of a copier.

The golden-haired Patrick Jane lay stretched out on an old leather sofa. He was just a consultant, so he didn't have any paperwork to do. Actually, he hadn't done anything for the past hour except stare up at the ceiling.

Jane hated days like this. It was nice to just lie down and be lazy, but after a while it got boring. Plus, without a case, there were no clues to decode or strange people to piss off.

Suddenly, Grace Van Pelt let out a giggle that disrupted the whole dull atmosphere of the room. Jane immediately turned his head to look. The redheaded agent was smiling at something on her computer screen, and typing quite rapidly.  
"What's so funny, Van Pelt?" Jane was curious.  
Van Pelt's fingers froze. She hadn't noticed how quiet the bullpen was. "Nothing," she replied a little too quickly. But of course, Jane could tell she was lying. Getting up from the couch and stretching his arms, he made his way over to the agent's desk before she could close the computer program.

Peering over her shoulder, Jane recognized it as an instant messaging program. And even though Van Pelt had exited out of the conversation, he saw that a certain "Rigster" was online.  
"Hey, I thought that the CBI computers blocked programs like instant messaging," Jane's voice seemed to boom over the silence.  
Van Pelt's eyes grew wide in panic as she whacked him on the arm. "Shhh," she hissed.  
In a hushed voice, she explained, "I found a way to get through the blocks and download an IM program. So me and Rigsby could talk during work. But I'll get in big trouble if Lisbon finds out, so stop talking like you're at a football game."  
Jane raised his eyebrows. "I won't tell Lisbon if you show me how to get past the blocks."  
"Fine."

"Wait...you're blackmailing me again!"

* * *

Jeez that was short. I wrote this on my phone's Notepad app, and my phone's screen is obviously smaller than my laptop's. It seemed so much longer on my phone.

**Random note:** I'm watching Glee right now. Idina Menzel's in the episode. I love Idina Menzel. SHE'S AMAZING.

Since this chapter was so microscopic, I'm going to go ahead and post the next chapter too.


	2. Chapter 2

Any grammar mistakes you see in the IM-ing section were made on purpose. [:

**

* * *

**

**chapter two**

And so, Van Pelt got past the blocks on Jane's computer, and he proceeded to download the instant messaging program.  
The bleeping sounds the computer made whenever he got a new message amused Jane. But he switched his volume to mute after Van Pelt messaged him, pleading with him to. (That didn't work, so she bribed him with a bag of chips from the vending machine.)

It didn't take long for Jane to get bored of Rigsby and Van Pelt. Eventually, they both got a notification saying someone named "K-Cho" was requesting to be on their contact list.  
Pretty soon, the whole office was typing away messages to one another.

Everyone that is, but Agent Lisbon. Sitting in her office tackling a stack of paperwork, Lisbon began to wonder why everybody seemed so cheerful.  
Nobody was laughing, or smiling, or giggling, they were all hard at work.  
But they seemed abnormally content as they sat at their computers. Usually on paperwork days, everyone was dull and blank. Why so warm today?  
Not like there was anything wrong with being happy though, of course. It just made Lisbon curious.  
Lisbon wanted to go out into the bullpen and investigate.  
Wait, what was she thinking?  
It was probably just the sunny weather, she told herself. Nothing out of the ordinary was up out there. Patrick Jane was rubbing off on her.  
Besides, she had a stack of papers on her desk the size Mount Everest. Probably even taller.

_*****gracievp is online*****  
*****RIGSTER is online*****  
*****PlainJane is online*****  
*****K-Cho is online*****_

**K-Cho:** What do you think Lisbon would do if she found out we were all chatting on our computers instead of working?

**RIGSTER:** Explode. Like Mt. Vesuvius.

**gracievp:** she is not a volcano.

**RIGSTER:** That's what the people in Pompee said. They died.

**PlainJane:** i believe it's Pompeii, rigsby.

**K-Cho:** They all thought it was a mountain. They raised sheep on it. And stuff.

**gracievp:** but our boss is not a mountain.

**PlainJane:** what if she was?

**RIGSTER:** That'd be one scary mountain.

**PlainJane:** i imagine it would be home to many vicious monsters.

**K-Cho:** It would have a big haunted mansion on top.

**RIGSTER:** With a creepy old lady living inside.

**PlainJane:** who had three eyes!

**RIGSTER:** and a pet dragon

**K-Cho:** And barbecued peoplefor dinner?

**PlainJane: **the three-eyed dragon-taming old lady's name would be teresa lisbon, of course.

**gracievp: **you guys are mean..

**PlainJane:** alert, the dragon lady is coming out of her lair! quick put on a blank face and act like your all hard at workk

**_*_**_PlainJane is offline_**_*_**_  
_**_*_**_gracievp is offline_**_*_**_  
_**_*_**_K-Cho is offline_**_*_**_  
_**_*_**_RIGSTER is offline_**_*_**

Patrick Jane had been working with the CBI for two years, and not once had Lisbon seen him sit at his desk. Let alone turn on his computer. She just had to know what he was up to.

The consultant smiled one of his charming smiles as he noticed her approaching his desk. "Morning, Lisbon," he greeted cheerfully.  
"Hey Jane. What are you up to?"  
"Oh, just exploring the Internet. Technology is amazing nowadays. Did you know they cloned a cat in Switzerland?"  
"Good for Switzerland."  
"Yep. Oh, and check this out." Jane clicked on a link, and as a site popped up, Lisbon's and Jane's faces appeared on the screen.  
"There's a website that lets you take pictures with the webcam on your computer," he chirped. "Then afterwards, you can add all sorts of amusing effects to it. Wanna see?"

Lisbon knew exactly what Jane was doing. He was going to snap a picture of her and then edit it into something horrible and email it to the whole city of Sacramento.  
Ha, she wasn't going to fall for that.  
"I have work to do, Jane."  
"Well, alrighty then. Go back to your little Lisbon Lair."  
"Ha ha. Don't visit any suspicious sites on your computer. You'll get viruses."  
"I'm not going to look at pornography at work, Lisbon."

Lisbon raised her eyebrows and turned to leave. "Lisbon, wait!" Jane called after her.  
She turned around, only to see the computer's webcam facing her and Jane pressing a button on his keyboard. A devilish smile spread across his face.  
"Say cheese!"

* * *

Well, this chapter was slightly longer. But not by much. I'll try working on writing longer chapters. :P

What do you think? Reviews would be lovely. xxx

Oh, and the case is coming up. Just wait, aha.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter's just an IM convo. (: more coming soon.

**

* * *

chapter three**

_*****K-Cho is online*****_  
_*****PlainJane is online***** _  
_*****RIGSTER is online*****_  
_*****gracievp is online*****  
_

**RIGSTER:** I thought they cloned the cat in Germany.

**K-Cho:** You were wrong.

**gracievp:** i'm hungry. who wants to go out for lunch?

**K-Cho:** Where?

**gracievp:** don't know yet.

**RiGSTER:** How about Burger King?

**gracievp:** you always want to go to burger king..

**PlainJane:** Rigsby worships Burger King.

**RIGSTER:** They have good food!

**K-Cho:** How about that new Mexican restaurant around the corner?

**gracievp:** sure.

**PlainJane:** sounds good.

**RIGSTER:** I like tacos!

**K-Cho:** Thats amazing, Rigsby. Who's paying?

**RIGSTER:** Lets make a bet.

**K-Cho:** About?

**RIGSTER:** Hmm..

**PlainJane:** how about how long it takes for me to annoy Lisbon into throwing a chair at her window?

**RIGSTER: **Didnt you already do that? Last year?

**PlainJane:** no, that was part of a ruse- it was fake. plus she was supposedly throwing the chair because she was crazy, not cos she was annoyed by me.

**RIGSTER:** Ohhh, right.

**gracievp:** jane, that's still a ridiculous bet.

**K-Cho: **how about..Who do you bet that slutty assistant is going out with now? The Rachel chick?

**PlainJane:** the big scary fellow with tattoos from Missing Persons.

**K-Cho: **I think she's going out with the guy from the mail room.

**RIGSTER:** Noo, it's got to be the guy with the goatee from Serious Crimes.

**gracievp:** calling people slutty is rude.

**gracievp**: but, it's totally the dylan guy.

**K-Cho: **Dylan's just a janitor, though.

**gracievp:** so? he's her age. and he's cute.

**Rigster: **You think he's cute?

**gracievp:** don't worry, i still love you.

**K-Cho:** Okaay then. Whoever's right doesn't have to pay. Losers will split the bill.

**gracievp:** what about the boss? it'd be rude not to invite her.

**PlainJane:** she's gonna say no. lisbon's got a bunch of paperwork to do, and I noticed she packed herself a nice big salad.

**K-Cho: **Why do you stalk Lisbon?

**PlainJane:** i don't stalk, i merely observe.

**K-Cho:** Sure you do. stalker.

**gracievp:** i'm going to go ask her anyway.

**PlainJane:** okie dokie.

**PlainJane:** wait for it...

**gracievp: **she said no.

**PlainJane:** jane - 1 van pelt - 0

**gracievp:** oh be quiet.

**gracievp:** What happened to Rigsby?

**K-Cho: **He thought you didnt love him anymore, so he died of sadness.

**RIGSTER**: Hey guys, I just had a thought. Who would pay for lunch if the assistant was dating all four guys? I mean, she_ is_ a slut, right?

**gracievp:** rigsby!

**K-Cho:** jane - 1 rigsby - 1 van pelt - 0

**RIGSTER:** I'm serious! What'll we do if we're all right?

**PlainJane:** well, whoever is right doesn't pay, so none of us pay. we dine and dash.

**gracievp:** Jane! we are law enforcement officials!

**PlainJane: **oh yeah I forgot. well in that case, you can pay while I dine and dash.

* * *

Still not to the case yet. I'm trying to map everything out ahead of time. So I don't get to a point in the story and go, "Oh wait, I should've done that instead..."


	4. Chapter 4

**chapter four**

It was lunchtime.  
Lisbon watched as the bullpen emptied out. Jane waved to her as he left with the others to go to lunch. Lisbon rolled her eyes and waved back.  
They had invited her to come with them, and she _had_ been wanting to try out that new Mexican restaurant. But Lisbon wasn't very hungry today. And the tower of papers on her desk hadn't shrunk at all. In fact, it somehow seemed to have doubled in size. The salad she had made would go untouched.  
Uncapping her black pen, Lisbon got back to work.

- - - - -

Before exiting the CBI building, Jane made sure to stop by and ask Rachel who she was dating. The others stood in earshot, making sure Jane didn't con them.  
Rachel barely knew Jane. But she happily told him all about her new boyfriend, while twirling a strand of her hair and giggling like a ditz. Jane confirmed that it was the man from the mail room. Cho had won the bet.

The Mexican restaurant was nice. The walls were painted a vibrant green, with various framed pictures and newspaper clippings here and there. There was salsa music playing. It made Jane want to dance. But he was too hungry.  
Their waiter's name was Carlos, and he wore a sombrero as he took their orders. Carlos was very short, and the oversized hat he wore made him seem even tinier.  
Cho had some fancy sounding dish. Rigsby ordered a really big order of tacos. Van Pelt had a salad ("you came to a Mexican restaurant to eat salad?" "It's a Mexican salad."). And Jane got nachos, with a rainbow of dipping sauces. They all ordered churros for dessert.

"You know, Lisbon's gonna find out about the whole instant messaging thing sooner or later," Cho said, taking a bite out of his churro.  
"C'mon, she didn't even realize Rigsby and Van Pelt were going out. Why would she realize an IM program?" Jane had crumbs all over his shirt.  
"We're going to be in big trouble if she does, though," said Van Pelt.

"I want another churro," declared Rigsby.

- - - - -

Teresa Lisbon was bored. Paperwork was terribly boring. Obviously.  
She took a quick glance at the clock. Lunch break would be over in fifteen minutes. Not like hers had even started.  
Lisbon stared out into the bullpen once again. It looked like an abandoned wasteland without any people in it.  
Mini mountains of papers were stacked everywhere. Computers sat, waiting for their masters to return. The copier's tiny screen glowed green, someone had forgotten to turn it off. The empty bullpen was a whole lot different from the busy bullpen.  
Lisbon was distracted from her work as she again wondered why everyone had been so chipper earlier. The previous explanation of good weather didn't satisfy her. It had to be something else. Something more interesting.  
Rigsby's computer screen caught her eye. He had forgotten to log off. Lisbon immediately wanted to head out into the bullpen and snoop around.  
_No,_ she told herself. That's nosy and a complete invasion of privacy. Stop acting like Jane.  
She tried to clear her head and once again got back to work.

Lisbon lasted about forty seconds before she caved in to the itch in her mind. Before she knew it, she was sitting in Rigsby's big chair, going through his computer.  
He had a document open that was related to the case they had been working on. Nothing wrong there.  
He had some work-related emails open. Nothing crazy there.  
He had an instant messenger program open.  
Nothing okay there.

Ding ding ding. Lisbon had a winner.  
Sweeping her eyes down Rigsby's contact list, Lisbon also saw a gracievp, K-Cho, and PlainJane. Their statuses all said basically the same thing.  
'at work!'

Ohh, were they in trouble.

* * *

Haha, I wonder how Lisbon is going to kill them. (:


	5. Chapter 5

**chapter five**

_*****PlainJane is online*****_

**Lisbon:** Jane.

Lisbon loved seeing the look of pure shock on Patrick Jane's face as he got her message. The shock lasted for about a fraction of a second, and transformed into a full blown grin.  
Jane's one-hundred watt smile made Lisbon smile as well. But she hid it as he looked up towards her office.

**Lisbon:** Jane.

**PlainJane:** Lisbon.

**Lisbon:** Can you please explain to me why everyone is so euphoric today?

**PlainJane:** i believe it is because they all got access to the instant messaging program.

**Lisbon:** Yes, that's what I thought.

**PlainJane:** oh, lisbon's a smart cookie.

**Lisbon:** what does that make you? a dumb cake?

**PlainJane:** actually i prefer muffins.

**Lisbon:** Okay. You're a dumb muffin.

**PlainJane:** yay!

**Lisbon:** Ha.

**Lisbon:** Do I need to ask who spread the whole IM thing around?

**PlainJane:** yours truly.

**Lisbon:** Minelli is going to grill us and eat us for breakfast.

**PlainJane:** nah he's not. that would be hypocrisy.

**Lisbon:** What?

**PlainJane: **he uses instant messaging every day to talk to his daughter.

**Lisbon:** And you know this why?

**Lisbon:** Do you stalk Minelli?

**PlainJane:** why does everyone think I'm a stalker? observing counts as stalking?

**Lisbon:** Aw, poor muffin.

**PlainJane:** are you going to tattle to Minelli?

**Lisbon:** "Hey, boss, guess what! someone from my unit hacked past the block on our computers. Now everyone's sending each other IMs instead of working! Ain't that the greatest?"

**PlainJane:** so your not gonna tell him?

**Lisbon:** Of course I'm going to tell him!

**PlainJane:** why are sitting in your office IMing me, then?

**Lisbon:** I finished all my paperwork, I got nothing to do.

**PlainJane:** *have nothing to do

**Lisbon: **whatever, Jane.

**PlainJane:** now you're a cranky cookie (:

_*****Lisbon is offline*****_

Lisbon sighed as she powered off her computer. How was she going to tell Minelli about this? Surely she had to tell him. If he just found out on his own she'd be in bigger trouble.  
And how was she going to kill her teammates?

Jane walked into her office just then. He didn't knock, which was very Jane-ish of him.  
"You logged off," he said, lying down on the couch and making himself comfortable.  
"Congratulations, you noticed." Lisbon rested her head on her arm.  
"How did you manage to complete all that paperwork?"  
"Easy. I didn't IM anyone."  
"Ah."

Then they both just sat there in her office, silent. Soon they both started to zone out, too.  
Lisbon thought she should feel a bit awkward just sitting there with Jane. But she didn't. Which was weird. Not feeling awkward made her feel awkward. Which was also weird. What a weird day.

"The Mexican restaurant was nice." The silence shattered like glass.  
"Who won the bet?"  
"Cho."  
"Really." It wasn't a question. Lisbon knew Jane had let Cho win on purpose. Jane always won the bets.  
"I'm bored. Wanna go bother Minelli?"  
"About what?"  
"Anything."  
"No."  
"You're no fun."  
"Fun doesn't get work done."  
"You've already finished your work."

Lisbon ran out of snippy replies.  
She began to doodle absentmindedly on a piece of scrap paper. Just random scribbles and lines, and stick animals. She couldn't really draw that well.  
"You just drew a cat." Jane startled her as he suddenly spoke up.  
And he was right. "How'd you know?"  
"I have super muffin powers. You just drew an alligator."  
Right again. Lisbon turned her head to look at his eyes. They were tightly shut.  
One by one, Jane guessed the animals right. Giraffe, lion, fish. Wolf, tiger, mouse. It was actually kind of amusing, Lisbon had to admit.

She was in the middle of drawing a monkey when Cho poked his face in.  
"Boss, we have a case."  
Lisbon immediately sprung to her feet and followed Cho out. Jane followed Lisbon.

Jane was glad they had a case. It wasn't like he sat around wishing someone would die or anything. That would be mean.  
But he'd rather be solving murders than sitting around doing nothing.

The victim had been dumped in a ditch just outside of Sacramento. Lisbon gave everyone a briefing on the drive there.  
The victim's identity was unknown. She had been found in the ditch around 1pm earlier that day. Cause of death had not been yet determined- there was no blood, just a couple of bruises.

Though it had previously been bright and sunny, the sky was starting to darken. Van Pelt found it hard to navigate the road as rain fell harshly down. It was hard to see anything, which made her kind of nervous.  
It was still raining hard as they arrived at the scene. It was difficult to see and everyone was shouting to compete with the rain. Van Pelt and Rigsby huddled together under an umbrella. Jane held a big yellow one for him and Lisbon. Lucky Cho had one all to himself.

After Lisbon introduced them to the policemen at the scene, they all peered into the ditch. It wasn't that deep, but not shallow, either. Jane estimated about four or five feet.  
At the bottom, white and splattered with mud, was a cold, lifeless girl.

She seemed peaceful, almost like she had crawled down into trench and fallen asleep.  
Her hair was covered in mud, but Jane could see that it was a flaming color of scarlet. A big purple bruise was present on her sharp chin.

"They found nothing on her," Lisbon said loudly over the rain. "No wallet, no keys, nothing."

The guys from the medical examiner's office were examining her and trying to figure out how to get her out of the ditch. Jane spied a marking on her right arm.  
At first he thought it was a tattoo. But the rain was starting to smudge it, so it must have been marker.  
"What's written on her arm?" he called down to the men.  
"Random words," shrugged one man. "The forensic team took some snaps of it, if you're interested."  
Jane nodded, even though the man couldn't see it.

Dragging Lisbon along with him, Jane headed over to the forensics team as the others questioned the policemen.  
"Hello, gentlemen," Jane said after making sure there were no women on the team (that would be incredibly offensive). "You took photographs of the markings on our victim's arm?"

A tall, gray-haired man handed him the photos.  
"Thank you."  
Jane and Lisbon examined the markings with the others. 'Mushrooms. Peppers. Olives. Onions. Sausage.'  
"A bunch of random food?" Cho couldn't find the connection.  
"Makes me hungry," said Rigsby, and Van Pelt visually scolded him.

"Maybe it's a shopping list," suggested Van Pelt.  
"There are tons of supermarkets around here," Lisbon shook her head. "We can't just go through all the security tapes. And even if we do find her on one, we can't use it to identify her."  
"If she was with someone, the tapes would show it," Van Pelt tried.

Unlike everyone else, Patrick Jane knew exactly what the list meant.  
"No need to check supermarkets," he said before Lisbon could reject Van Pelt again.  
Four pairs of eyes were on him as he explained.  
"The poor girl was a new employee at a place that sold pizza. Those things she wrote down were toppings on a supreme pizza. She wrote them down to remember them, because she kept forgetting what to put on the pizza."

Lisbon nodded. "That makes sense."  
"Judging by what she's wearing, I'd say she worked at a Pizza Hut."  
"Check all the pizza places in the area, see if they have any missing employees," Lisbon instructed Van Pelt. She scurried off to do so, leaving Rigsby to share Cho's umbrella.

"They still haven't found cause of death?" Rigsby asked.  
"Nope," Cho answered.  
"There's not even a cut on the body," Lisbon said. Her hair was drenched, despite Jane's big yellow umbrella. "The M.E. is going to take her back to their lab for a full autopsy."  
"We won't have any leads unless we find out who she is." Rigsby said, stating the obvious.  
Lisbon nodded. "Right. So let's find out."

* * *

Lisbon's not going to kill anyone off yet. She's gonna have a little fun with it.


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: this chapter is booring. :p Sorry.  
I rewrote it about three or four times, but every single try turned out blah. I posted the best one on here.

I guess my chapter six was just destined to be a simple, boring filler chapter. Heh.  
Chapter seven is coming soon, though. Hopefully it'll be better than this one.

Also, thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! I didn't know how addicting reviews could be.

**

* * *

chapter six**

___*****K-Cho is online*****_  
_*****PlainJane is online***** _  
_*****RIGSTER is online*****_  
_*****gracievp is online*****_  


**K-Cho:** Any luck, Van Pelt?

**gracievp:** no. still calling all the pizza places.

**PlainJane: **make sure you focus on the pizza huts.

**gracievp:** yeahh.

**gracievp:** be right back.

**__*******_gracievp is offline_**__*******

**RIGSTER:** is van pelt gone?

**RIGSTER:** I want some pizza now..

**K-Cho:** When dont you want pizza

**RIGSTER:** You know what place makes the best pizza?

**K-Cho: **what?

**RIGSTER:** Chuck E. Cheese's.

**PlainJane:** i've never been to Chuck E. Cheese's.

**RIGSTER:** I love their pizza!

**K-Cho:** you go to Chuck E. Cheeses?

**RIGSTER:** yeah

**K-Cho:** That's very manly of you.

**PlainJane:** We should all go together sometime. :D

**K-Cho:** I'll pass, thanks.

**RIGSTER:** you don't know what your missing, Cho!

**K-Cho:** Actually i think i do... a bunch of miniature people running around barefoot and sweaty old pedophiles in mouse costumes..

**PlainJane:** no need to be so negative my friend.

**__*******_gracievp is online_**__*******

**gracievp: **hey guys .

**PlainJane:** alohaa

**gracievp:** whatcha talkin about?

**K-Cho:** Chuck E. Cheese's.

**gracievp:** that's..nice...

**PlainJane:** have you ever been there?

**gracievp:** no. but rigsby keeps on wanting to go.

**RIGSTER:** 8]

**gracievp:** i never knew we had so many pizza places. still calling them up.

**K-Cho:** good luck.

**PlainJane:** I'm looking up videos on youtube.

**PlainJane:** ! look at this video of a panda doing kung fu!

**RIGSTER: **Haha it's Cho in animal form!

**K-Cho:** lemme see.

**K-Cho:** hm. it could be me. i guess. but i'm not that fat.

**K-Cho:** Am i?

**gracievp:** guys i think i got her-

**gracievp:** Cristina Ann Foley , age 19. worked at the pizza hut on Dunsing St and didn't show up for work this morning. red hair, about 5 ft three.

**PlainJane:** thaat's heeer

**K-Cho:** Good job VP

**gracievp:** imma go tell the bosss.

**__*******_gracievp is offline_**__*******

Lisbon looked up as the door opened. Van Pelt poked her red head into the room. "Boss, I think I got the identity of our victim."  
"Let me guess, she works at a Pizza Hut?"  
"Yup. The one on Dunsing Street."  
Lisbon wasn't surprised. Jane's hunches were hardly ever wrong.  
"What's her name?"

Van Pelt handed her boss a piece of scrap paper. On it were a few phone numbers scrawled down in loopy, blue handwriting.  
"She didn't show up for work this morning. The Pizza Hut manager described her as about five foot three, with long red hair and blue eyes. Nineteen years old."  
"Sounds like our girl. What's her name?"  
"Cristina Ann Foley."

Cristina Ann Foley.. The name sounded familiar to Lisbon. Where had she heard it before? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.  
After a few moments of thought and a strange look from Van Pelt, it finally hit her.  
"Cristina Ann Foley, the daughter of.."

"Robert and Diane Foley, yes." Van Pelt finished her sentence.

Oh crap.

_*****PlainJane is online*****  
*****K-Cho is online*****  
*****RIGSTER is online*****  
*****gracievp is online***** _

**RIGSTER:** Why does the boss look so cranky?

**PlainJane:** i believe its because our murder victim is somehow connected to a person with a giant reputation.

**gracievp:** yepp.

**K-Cho:** why is she working at a Pizza Hut, then?

**RIGSTER:** What was her name again?

**gracievp:** Cristina Ann Foley.

**RIGSTER:** I've never heard of her .

**gracievp:** she's the daughter of Robert Foley.

**RIGSTER:** oh. OHH. damn.

**K-Cho:** No wonder Lisbon is so pissed.

**PlainJane: **who's Robert Foley?

**RIGSTER:** The snooty bigshot CEO of California Pharmaceutical.

**PlainJane:** ?

**K-Cho:** The big bald guy you always see in those medicine commercials on channel 13.

**PlainJane:** oh, him? Yeah he always struck me as a little snobby..

**gracievp: **how so?

**PlainJane:** the way he talks to you about aspirin. Its just.. weird.

**K-Cho: **So what do we do now?

**gracievp:** The autopsy results for our victim won't come back until tomorrow morning. we'll contact the Foleys once we get the confirmation of our victim's identity.

**RIGSTER:** besides his bigshot-ness, there's also that scandal about his family that went on a few years back

**PlainJane:** I'm not familiar with scandals. :p especially not ones that involve big bald pharmaceutical CEOs

**K-Cho:** cristina foley filed for emancipation from her parents, and the reason was never stated. The tabloids were all over it.

**gracievp:** yeah. I remember the headlines. "robert foley is a rapist!"

**PlainJane:** oh my.

**RIGSTER:** I remember seeing an article in the National Enquirer about how Cristina was an alien.

**PlainJane: **okay so we got the estranged daughter of a bigshot CEO who was part of a huge scandal and was also accused of being an extra-terrestrial.

**gracievp:** yepp.

**PlainJane:** I can understand Lisbon's grumpiness.

**gracievp:** mhmm.

**PlainJane:** How shiny is his head?

**PlainJane: **robert foley's head?

**RIGSTER:** what kind of question is that?

**PlainJane:** you can tell a lot about a bald man from how shiny his head is.

**K-Cho:** Umm, I don't know.

**RIGSTER:** Hm. extra shiny.?

**PlainJane:** Ahh.

**gracievp:** mind explaining?

**PlainJane:** I would, but Lisbon's coming.

_*****PlainJane is offline*****  
*****gracievp is offline*****  
*****RIGSTER is offline*****  
*****K-Cho is offline*****_

They (with the exception of Jane, who was very relaxed about it) all scrambled to exit the instant messaging program before Lisbon entered the bullpen. It didn't stop her from noticing their high-strung faces, however. Seeing her agents panic actually amused Lisbon a little bit.  
"Go home," she told them. "There's nothing left for you all to do. See you tomorrow."  
They all nodded and left.  
Except for Jane, of course, who decided to stay behind and irritate her. He always did.

Rigsby, Van Pelt, and Cho were in the elevator heading for the ground floor.  
"Where's Jane?" Rigsby asked. The answer to his question was quite obvious.  
"He stayed behind to piss Lisbon off," Cho replied monotonously.  
"I wonder if she's ever going to have enough of him," Van Pelt said, fidgeting with her hair.  
"Nah. She likes him too much." answered Cho.  
"True.. I wonder if they'll invite us to their wedding."  
They all laughed quietly at the thought of Jane and Lisbon getting married.

* * *

x_x


	7. Chapter 7

I think I took too long on this one. Sorry.

* * *

**chapter seven**

The next morning, the team received confirmation that their victim was indeed Cristina Foley. Cause of death was still unknown, and further testing was scheduled.

Jane and Lisbon went to question Robert Foley. Cho and Van Pelt headed over to Pizza Hut to question the employees. They both agreed taking Rigsby would be a bad idea.

The CEO's California residence was a lavish, spacious mansion not far from his company's headquarters. It was surrounded by a lot of land, and a fancy cobblestone path led to it's door. At the other end of the path was a gate, complete with buff security guard and all. The buff security guard didn't seem to believe Lisbon when she told him that she worked for the CBI. He kept making her show him her badge ("Wait, let me see your badge again?"). A few minutes of that resulted in a still-reluctant security guard, an irritated Lisbon, and one amused Patrick Jane sitting in the passenger seat.

Eventually the security guard let them through, and they drove on in. It was a long way to the house.  
"You know, that security guard held us up for a reason," Jane said casually.  
"Of course there was a reason. The reason was because he's a damn idiot." Lisbon was still irked.  
"Nah. Reason was because he thought you were pretty."  
Lisbon looked over at Jane, who was smiling so brightly he made the sun look like a black hole. "Really."  
"Yup."  
"Sure he did."  
"He sure did, Lisbon."  
"That's wonderful."  
"It's very wonderful."  
"..Stop reversing my sarcasm."  
"I'm not reversing your sarcasm."  
"Yes you are!"  
"'Reversing sarcasm' makes no sense."  
"Well whatever you're doing, stop it. That thing where you're.. you're.. I don't know. You know what? Just be quiet. Be quiet and you'll make everything better."  
"Whatever you say."  
Lisbon got to enjoy about fifteen seconds of silence.

"But seriously, that security guard is in love with you."  
"Shut up!"  
"He's probably going to show up at your door tonight. He seems like the stalker type."  
Lisbon wanted to throw something at the man, but they were in a car and nothing heavy was around.  
She improvised and pinched him on the arm.  
"Ow!"  
Jane tried pinching her back as they pulled up outside the front door.

Robert Foley was very tall. He had big ears, and big feet. In fact, everything about him was big.  
The man had a big mouth, a big nose, a big tie, big beady eyes, and wore a big grey suit. The more Jane thought about it, the more Mr. Foley resembled an elephant. Big big big. Jane could tell, though, that the biggest part of him was his ego.  
He had only exchanged four words with the CEO ("nice to meet you") when he made this inference.  
It's not very nice to judge people on how they look, but Jane always got a lot of information by doing so. Shoes, eyebrows, clothing, earrings. Everything a person wore held a clue about them.

Mr. Foley's shoes were expensive and spotless. His bald head was very shiny, as Rigsby had said. He cared about his appearance, from head to toe.  
The man's tie was black, a boring color. He was serious business. He didn't like distractions.  
There was a bluetooth hooked onto his right ear. That pretty obviously indicated a busy man.  
His suit pocket was lined with three pens. Red, blue, and black. There was also a skinny sharpie. Foley was organized and fast-paced. He liked things quick, easy, and clean. That was probably even his motto. Jane got all of this information after ten seconds of analyzing the CEO.

Judging from the way Mr. Foley walked and spoke and dressed, he was an arrogant businessman who thought he was better than everyone else, and didn't take no for an answer. A bigshot, like the team had said.  
This fact disappointed Jane. Arrogant bigshot was such a cliche personality for businessmen. Why couldn't he have been a businessman who liked to cook? Or one that liked to play sports? Or a skydiving one? Narcissistic CEO was so _boring_.

The man sent texts to people on his Blackberry as Lisbon questioned him about his deceased daughter.

"Mr. Foley, when was the last time you saw your daughter?"  
"Ex-daughter. She is estranged." He didn't take his eyes off his cell phone.  
"She's still biologically your daughter, though," Jane piped in.  
"Yes. But I'd prefer to refer to her as just Cristina."  
"Why is that?" Lisbon asked.  
"Because she is not my daughter."  
Lisbon wanted to roll her eyes, but did not, for obvious reasons.  
"When was the last time you saw Cristina?"  
"May 23rd, 2007. The day she got emancipated. Took all her stuff, said goodbye." Mr. Foley whistled. "And left."  
"Why did she get emancipated?"  
"Apparently, she thought her life would be better if she was living by herself in some closet instead of being here, where she had maids who treated her like a queen."  
The man seemed genuinely oblivious.  
"Sorry to hear. Where is her mother?"  
"Diane died of ductal carcinoma when Cristina was eleven. 2002."  
"Ductal carcinoma?" Lisbon didn't know her _oma_s.  
"Oh, my apologies. Breast cancer."  
Jane could tell he enjoyed the fact Lisbon didn't know what ductal carcinoma was. It made him feel smarter than her.  
Lisbon just scribbled away on her little notepad.  
"Have you been in contact with Cristina recently?"  
"No. She sends me cards every Christmas, but I never reply to them."  
"Waste of money?" Jane remarked.  
"Yes, exactly." Foley was also oblivious to Jane's sarcasm. "I haven't talked to Cristina since the day she left."  
"Do you know anyone who was close to Cristina?"  
"Hm. Probably one of the maids. She took care of her while she was growing up, so I guess they're close."  
"The maid's name?"  
"Mimi. Or Melissa. Or Myra."  
The CEO scrolled down a list on his Blackberry. "Oh. It's Karen Zuckerberg."  
"You were close." More sarcasm from Jane.  
"Karen's phone number?"  
The CEO handed Lisbon the cell phone, and she wrote it down.  
"Are we almost done? I need to get a presentation ready."  
"This is a murder investigation, Mr. Foley. Your answers will help us catch a murderer."  
"If you say so."  
"Did Cristina have any allergies? Severe or mild?"  
"No. I don't believe so. You should ask Carrie."  
"Karen."  
"Yeah, her."

It didn't look like Robert Foley was going to help them much. He didn't seem to know his daughter at all. And his texting annoyed Lisbon. A lot.

"That's all we need for now, Mr. Foley. Thank you. We'll be in touch."  
Lisbon got up to leave, and Jane followed suit.

"Well, that was quick. You didn't like him, did you?" Jane asked as soon as they reached the car.  
"Who the hell would?" Lisbon was irritated. Foley hadn't helped them at all. Hopefully Cho and Van Pelt would get something at the Pizza Hut.  
"True, true."  
"I wanted to grab his Blackberry and fling it out the window."  
"You should have done that."  
"Maybe next time."

"I bet you ten dollars the security guard will ask you for your phone number on the way out."  
"I bet you ten dollars you can't last a car ride without shutting up."

-xxx-

Grumble grumble grumble. Van Pelt's stomach growled. It wasn't even close to lunchtime, but she was already hungry.  
It wasn't much of a surprise though, seeing as she was surrounded by pizza. All types of pizza, from pepperoni to cheese to pineapple, and even strawberry dessert pizza.

Jane and Lisbon had gone off to meet with Robert Foley, and Rigsby was back at the CBI building. Someone had to be there to answer the phone. Van Pelt and Cho had been assigned the task of going to the Pizza Hut and questioning Cristina's co-workers.  
Usually it was Van Pelt's job to stay behind, but lately Lisbon had been giving her a lot more field work. Grace enjoyed it most of the time, but the pizzas were torture. They were _right there_. And she couldn't have any.  
It scared her how much she wanted to grab a slice. Van Pelt was afraid of turning into Rigsby.

Cristina had worked the night shift (like, the really late night shift), so there were only four employees who had worked with her.  
They all sat in a booth located in one corner of the restaurant. Cho and Van Pelt on one side, and the four employees on the other. They introduced themselves as Bob Eller, Marian Bostian, Jim Cameron, and Holly Adams.

"What was Cristina like?" Van Pelt asked, still partially distracted by the scent of pizza.

Bob Eller was the night shift manager. He had grey hair, and a mustache, which was also grey. His voice was scruffy, but at the same time soft. Which was strange. He also kind of resembled Santa Claus. He spoke first, and not much.  
"She was a good girl. Hard-working, and responsible. Never let me down." Eller looked out the window. "I hope you find whoever did this to her, and I hope you make him pay."  
"We will," Van Pelt assured him.

Marian Bostian put a hand on Bob's shoulder to comfort him. She was a short girl (not shorter than Lisbon, because no one is shorter than Lisbon) with curly hair. Her hair was a dark brown, but it was so dark it almost seemed black. Her eyes were hazel, and her voice was shaky.  
"C-Cristina was one of the kindest people I've ever met. She would help anybody with anything. I remember my first day on the job here, I totally screwed up the orders.. She helped me out and was totally cool about it. And she was always like that. She never got mad, she never got bothered by anything. She was always so calm and g-good-natured.. It's really hard to believe she's g-gone. She just seemed so, alive."

Van Pelt nodded, while Cho scrawled down notes and said nothing. His face showed no emotion, which was typical of Iceman Cho.

"When did Cristina start working here?" he asked.

"She started about eighteen months ago," Bob Eller was staring at the salt shakers now.

Cho scribbled some more.

"Do you know where she had been living?" Van Pelt asked.

"She lived in an apartment somewhere around here," Jim Cameron replied this time. "She had a roommate."

Jim looked about in his late 20s, give or take. He was pretty tall. His curly hair reminded Van Pelt of Jane's hair, except Jim's was brown.

"Do you know her roommate's name?"

Jim took a moment to remember. "Maggie.. Margaret. Margaret Kline. She came by here a couple times."

Cho did more scribbling.

"How did she die?" Holly Adams was the last to speak up. She spoke so softly Van Pelt could barely hear her.  
"We don't know yet."  
Holly nodded, looking down. She was tall and lanky, with flaxen hair and gray eyes that somehow seemed warm. She seemed about Cristina's age. Holly had an accent, but Van Pelt couldn't tell what it was because the girl was so quiet.

"Do you know if Cristina was allergic to anything?"  
Lisbon had told her to ask that question, just in case it played a role in her death. Van Pelt thought it was pretty unlikely, since it was a murder. But she followed the boss' instructions.  
All four employees shook their heads.  
"Nope," Marian said. "I don't think she does. ..Did."

"Can you think of why anybody would want to hurt her?" Cho asked.

They all shook their heads without hesitation. "Everybody liked her," Bob Eller said. "It was hard not to."

"What did you guys know about Cristina?" Van Pelt asked. It was a pretty general question, but they didn't know enough about the victim yet to be too specific.

"She didn't talk too much about herself," said Marian. "But I knew her dad was the CEO of a company, and that she got legally emancipated from him when she was sixteen. She never said why, though. I never asked."

"Cristina was taking classes at the local college," Jim offered. "I think she was majoring in biology. She wanted to be a doctor. And she seemed pretty close to her bio professor, too. Professor Langley. She always talked about her. Maybe she'll know something useful."  
"We'll make a note of that, thank you."

The employees were cooperative and kind, but they didn't really know much. Van Pelt let Cho ask them a few more questions.  
At least they had another person, Van Pelt thought. Hopefully Professor Langley would give them a better lead.

After a couple more questions and some more Cho scribbling, they thanked the Pizza Hut employees and headed back to the CBI.

"I know you wanted some of that pizza," Cho said on the car ride back. It had been silent until he spoke up.  
"No I didn't," Van Pelt replied too quickly.  
"Yes you did."  
"I did not."  
"You were staring at the pizza the whole time."  
"No.."  
"Yes."  
"No!"  
"Yes you were, _Mrs. Rigsby_."

* * *

Not really sure about this chapter. =/ The part where they are questioning the employees+CEO is weird. But it's hard to write those parts. =P for me, anyway.

And it seems a little too short.

Hopefully I'll be prouder of the next chapter.


End file.
